Conservation mycology is a multidisciplinary practice aimed not only toward conserving fungi, but also their relationships to other organisms as decomposers, mycorrhizae, endophytes, pathogens and lichens. Conserving fungi promotes ecosystem balance while simultaneously supporting the other species with which fungi are associated. Conservation mycology links taxonomy, ecology, biogeography, demographics, and population genetics, and builds on advances in digital technology, genetic coding and, not least, the growth of community science. These contributions include monitoring fungal species ranges and populations. The development of conservation principles for fungi will evolve over time, particularly as we continue to discover and describe fungal species. The documentation of fungal biodiversity and ecology will be essential to informing our conservation efforts.

The articles below review some of the challenges encountered by conservationists in establishing the discipline of conservation mycology:

1. the differences between customary ecosystem management and the unique approaches required by fungi;
2. the current techniques used by fungal conservationists to identify species, distributions, habitats and relationships with other organisms;
3. the role of threat-status assessments and the methods for mitigation of threats;
4. the role of socio-political approaches.

Further Reading

Conservation of abundance: How fungi can contribute to rethinking conservation.
Barron, E. S. (2023). Conservation and Society, 21(2), 99-109. (Read here.)

Delimitation of Funga as a valid term for the diversity of fungal communities: the Fauna, Flora & Funga proposal (FF&F).
Kuhar, F., Furci, G., Drechsler-Santos, E.R. and Pfister, D.H. (2018) IMA Fungus 9, A71–A74 . (Read here.)

Addressing uncertainty: how to conserve and manage rare or little-known fungi. Fungal Ecology, 4(2), 134-146.
Molina, Randy, Thomas R. Horton, James M. Trappe, Bruce G. Marcot.(2011). Fungal Ecology 4(2), 134-146. (Read here.)

What do the first 597 global Fungal Red List Assessments tell us about the threat status of Fungi? 
Mueller, G.M., Cunha, K.M., May, T.W., Allen, J.L., Westrip, J.R., Canteiro, C., Costa-Rezende, D.H., Drechsler-Santos, E.R., Vasco-Palacios, A.M., Ainsworth, A.M. and Alves-Silva, G. 2022. (2022). Diversity, 14(9), 736. (Read here.)

From high in the atmosphere to deep sea sediments, fungi are everywhere. They comprise an incredibly diverse kingdom of life that have been influencing Earth’s ecologies for over 1 billion years. They exist in both macroscopic and microscopic forms and their metabolic needs and interspecies symbioses drive their functional diversity. A complete understanding of fungal ecological roles remains elusive due to their largely cryptic nature and the fact that more than 90% of fungal species remain unknown to science. It is estimated that approximately 2,500 new fungal species are discovered and described annually. This growth in knowledge of fungal diversity and their functional traits, demonstrates with certainty that fungi provide imperative functions on spatial and temporal scales. Fungal ecosystem services are unique and irreplaceable, differing from those of plants, animals and other microorganisms. 

Fungi evolved 1 billion years ago while land plants evolved an estimated 850 million years ago. Thus, fungi have been interacting with plants at least since their transition onto land. These intimate interactions lead to co-evolution, where both fungi and plants drive the evolution of each other,  resulting in varieties of complex plant-fungal relationships. There is a growing body of evidence which suggests that mycorrhizal fungi (fungi that engage in nutrient transfer with the roots of plants) facilitated the migration of early plants from oceans onto land by serving as their primary nutrient uptake mechanism. These associations persist today and over 90% of extant terrestrial plant families form mycorrhizae. Due to these ancient interdependencies, most plants cannot survive without their root-associated fungal symbionts, nor would the ecosystems in which they are found. Delving deeper, endophytic fungi live within the cells of plant roots, leaves, stems, flowers and seeds and play important roles in supporting plant immune function, conferring stress tolerance, increasing defense mechanisms and improving seed germination.

Fungi are remarkable chemical innovators and produce arrays of compounds, enzymes and acids used for nutrient acquisition, defense, host signaling, mating, and dispersal, to name a few of their functions. Many of these enzymes are incomparably effective at breaking down wood and cellulose, two of the strongest and most abundant polymers on the planet. Fungi are principal contributors to decomposition and nutrient cycling in both terrestrial and aquatic environments.These same degradative enzymes and acids are responsible for the remediative potential of fungi in degrading anthropogenic pollutants such as plastic polymers. In terrestrial ecosystems, fungi play imperative roles in the formation and maintenance of soils, contributing to biogeochemical cycling, plant nutrient uptake, soil structural dynamics, moisture retention and carbon storage to name a few. A recent review by Hawkins et al. (2023) estimates that each year, 13.12 gigatons of CO2 fixed by land plants is allocated to mycorrhizal fungal mycelium, equating to approximately 36% of current annual anthropogenic CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

Fungi are also ubiquitous in freshwater and marine systems, serving as substantial decomposers of marine detritus, important parasites of fish and other vertebrates, as well as endophytes of keystone plant species like seagrasses and mangroves. Fungi have been isolated from the tissues of sea sponges, corals, sea cucumbers, marine sediments and more.The roles these fungi are playing in the microbiome of aquatic organisms remains, for the most part, a mystery. 

Fungi provide food for many organisms from bacteria to humans, and their secondary compounds are used in medicine and provide protection and defense for their symbiotic partners. Every year, hundreds of new compounds are found in fungi that might hold promise as treatments for chronic human diseases or bioactive compounds with the potential to replace the need for broad-spectrum insecticides in agricultural settings. Fungi play vital roles in the microbiome of numerous animals from termites to cows to humans. They also serve as insect mutualists and parasites as well as agents of disease involved in insect and plant population regulation.

Growing evidence suggests that fungi bridge levels of biological and ecological organization from their specific symbiotic interactions to biome-scale processes, serving as significant ecological and evolutionary driving forces. We are just beginning to understand the complex web of interactions fungi engage in and the myriad ecosystem services they offer. Without proper conservation measures to protect fungi and their habitats, we might never know the full extent of what they do and how they impact living systems. One thing we do know is that the world would look very different without them!

Further Reading

Fungi as mediators linking organisms and ecosystems.
Bahram, Mohammad, and Tarquin Netherway.(2022).  FEMS Microbiology Reviews 46.2: fuab058. (Read here.)

Fungi in aquatic ecosystems.
Grossart, H.P., Van den Wyngaert, S., Kagami, M., Wurzbacher, C., Cunliffe, M. and Rojas-Jimenez, K. (2019). Nature Reviews Microbiology 17.6: 339-354. (Read here.)

Mycorrhizal mycelium as a global carbon pool. 
Hawkins, H.J., Cargill, R.I., Van Nuland, M.E., Hagen, S.C., Field, K.J., Sheldrake, M. (2023). Current Biology 33.11: R560-R573. (Read here.)

Fungal endophytes improve wheat seed germination under heat and drought stress. 
Hubbard, Michelle, James Germida, and Vladimir Vujanovic.(2012).  Botany 90.2): 137-149. (Read here.)

Fungal biodiversity and conservation mycology in light of new technology, big data, and changing attitudes.
Lofgren, Lotus A., and Jason E. Stajich. (2021). Current Biology 31.19: R1312-R1325. (Read here.)

The origin of land plants: a matter of mycotrophism.
Pirozynski, K. A., and D. W. Malloch. (1975).  Biosystems 6.3 (1975): 153-164. (Read here.)

Interactions between soil structure and fungi.
Ritz, Karl, and Iain M. Young.(2004).  Mycologist 18.2: 52-59. (Read here.)

Fungal endophytes: diversity and functional roles.
Rodriguez, R. J., et al.(2009).  New phytologist 182.2: 314-330. (Read here.)

Threats to fungi are largely the same as threats to other species. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Global Fungal Red List Initiative, the primary threats are “habitat loss/degradation, followed by climate change, invasive species and pollution.” [1] More specific to fungi is the historical dearth of mycological research compared with other natural sciences. The Kew Botanical Gardens State of the World of 2023 points out “the lack of fungal inventories, reference collections, taxonomists and other resources.” [2] This lack of taxonomic expertise coupled with a lack of fungal reference collections contributed to the IUCN’s failure to include fungal species in its Red List assessments until 2013, 49 years after the establishment of the Global Red List in 1964. From 2013 to 2022, 48% of the 597 species evaluated by the IUCN were included on the Global Red List as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered.[1] Another 9% were listed as data deficient. For these species, there is insufficient information to assess threat status, but they could in reality be anywhere from secure to endangered. One assessment category, habitat type, revealed that the largest number of threatened fungi (73%) globally occur in forests (current as of September 2024). 

The authors of the Red List also remind us that threats occur synergistically.[1]  Fungi are necessary for forest ecosystem function, the extinction of key fungal species will negatively impact forest ecosystems, in turn leading to additional species extinctions.

Because fungi exist cryptically and are difficult to detect, a species approach to fungal conservation is extremely problematic. Fungal conservationists, therefore, advocate a more holistic, ecosystem approach to conserving fungi along with the habitats in which they occur. The cutting of old-growth forest, the replacement of native forests with tree plantations, the removal of peat from peat bogs, and other habitat destruction in urban development of meadows, sand dunes, and alpine areas negatively impacts fungal species and populations. [3] Agricultural use of fertilizer and pesticides also contributes to habitat loss through acidification, air pollution and eutrophication of fungal habitats.

The threats to fungi and other organisms are ongoing. The IUCN ranks the following by severity: 

• Land Development
• Agriculture
• Logging
• Climate Change and Severe Weather (drying of cloud forests, saltwater intrusion)
• Fire and Fire Suppression
• Invasive Species
• Pollution
• Disturbance
• Transport and service corridors
• Energy Production and Mining
• Collecting
• Water Management/Use
• Other

One limitation of the IUCN’s report is that it only covers North America, Europe and parts of South America. The more mycologists and community scientists contribute to an understanding of both the services fungi perform for the ecological health of the planet as well as of the pervasive threats fungi face, the more they will be able to influence habitat management, land use planning, and government policies.

References 

1. What do the first 597 global Fungal Red List Assessments tell us about the threat status of Fungi?  Mueller, G.M., Cunha, K.M., May, T.W., Allen, J.L., Westrip, J.R., Canteiro, C., Costa-Rezende, D.H., Drechsler-Santos, E.R., Vasco-Palacios, A.M., Ainsworth, A.M. and Alves-Silva, G. 2022. (2022). Diversity, 14(9), 736. (Read here.)
2. Kew Royal Botanical Garden’s State of The World’s Plants and Fungi (2023).
3. The future of Fungi in Europe: threats, conservation and management.  Arnolds, Eef. (2001). Fungal Conservation: Issues and Solutions. Cambridge U P, 2001. Pp. 64-80. (Read here.)

Further Reading 

Developing a comprehensive strategy for fungal conservation in europe: current status and future needs.
Dahlberg, A., Genney, D. R., & Heilmann-Clausen, J. (2010). Fungal Ecology, 3(2), 50–64. (Read here.)

A way forward for wild fungi in international sustainability policy. 
Oyanedel, R., Hinsley, A., Dentinger, B. T. M., Milner-Gulland, E. J., & Furci, G. (2022). Conservation Letters, 15(4). (Read here.)

A fungal perspective on conservation biology. 
Heilmann-Clausen J, Barron ES, Boddy L, Dahlberg A, Griffith GW, Nordén J, Ovaskainen O, Perini C, Senn-Irlet B, Halme P. (2015) Conserv Biol.; 29(1):61-8. (Read here.)